Hello from chilly Calgary, Alberta, Canada

[Liz]

Hi everyone!  I'm Liz and I thought I'd introduce myself as a new 4 rack digital Bradley Smoker owner.  Santa must have received my letters.  :)

I took it out of the box today to smoke some Northern pike I had curing, but I kept getting an E1 error.  So, I took it back to the store and got a new one and it's outside seasoning right now.  The only thing is with this new one is the seal doesn't seem very good.  Smoke is leaking out of the door - quite a lot really.

Anyway, since my pike awaits I'm seasoning it and going ahead as planned fully prepared to tape it shut if I have too.  I have ribs and a chicken in the waiting as well.  Hopefully the door seal is a function of the cold weather.

Liz

[KevinG]

Welcome to the forum Liz, sorry to hear you started off taking it back already. The E1 was probably just a bad connection on the small plug. Did you get it seasoned before starting?  Hope you did and your smoke comes out good!

[HawkeyeSmokes]

Welcome to the forum Liz!

As for the smoke leaking, do you have the top vent open? Having it shut down can cause smoke to leak at the door and worse, backup at the smoke generator and cause problems.

[MPTubbs]

Hi Liz and welcome!

Must be real cold up there to make the seal not work proper.

[FLBentRider]

W E L C O M E  to the Forum Liz!

Check out our FAQ page - http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?p=748#post748

[_Bear_]

Hey Liz, welcome to the site from Medicine Hat. I hope you get your problems sorted out, I just finished smoking a prime rib and it was -18c here, starting to warm up now, but there is a wind warning in effect as well. Let us know how you make out with that slough shark, I will probably be smoking some of that this spring.

[Quarlow]

Hello Liz and welcome to the forum. The smoke coming out the door is most likely caused by not opening the vent enough. The vent must be open at all times when in use. For meats and other stuff you want the vent open 1/2 to 3/4 and for poultry you need it to be wide open. I don't have a digital but from all the other guys info the E1 error is just from a not good enough connection with your small cable from the tower to the smoke generator, so if you get that agian with the new one you know what to look at first. Smoke on Liz and any questions just ask. Oh yeah this site is free but you can pay us with pictures. There good anytime.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Liz;

Welcome to the forum.

A small amount of smoke leaking from the door seal it not a major problem. I have the OBS, and from day one, I had a small smoke leak at the bottom left corner of the door (near the generator}. You don't need a perfect seal, as long as smoke is not backing up into your generator, you are all right.

Here is a guide to vent openings to get you started. After using the guide you will quickly learn what openings work best for you.
What is the purpose of the vent?

[Liz]

I think I might be having some bad luck. 

With the first one the E1 error just wouldn't go away.  We checked the forum followed all the suggestions repeatedly and even took apart the digital box to check the puck advancement arm was working - it was.  After about an hour we still had the error.  So, back to the store we went.

Once we got the second one home my brother (the one who caught the pike) and I noticed the seal had a significant gap at near the bottom of the door when we were assembling it, but we thought that once it heated up the rubber might expand and fix itself.

We went ahead and seasoned it and noticed that smoke was really leaking out of the door despite the fact that the vent was fully open.  We let it season and then smoked some Northern pike.  I was watching it from inside and couldn't figure out why the temperature wasn't recovering.  I went out to investigate and it turns out that the rubber was heated up and that the door now wouldn't stay shut at all.  It's on a level surface, but the door just falls open an inch or so.

Don't worry though I'm from Canada and I've watched and learned from Red Green - out came the duct tape.  Done deal.  I'm not even sure I'm going to bother returning it.  The good news is the pike turned out great!  A bit salty for me, but that's the brine not the smoker.  :)  Today two racks of ribs are on and then a chicken.  My neighbors are either going to love me or hate me.  :)

[MPTubbs]

Liz,

I would take it back. That's just not right.

Maybe got damaged during shipping?  My DBS was well packaged and no damage.

Try bending the door to make up for the gap. If it got bent one way it will go back the other.

Mike.

[KevinG]

You've definitely got a rough batch of smokers there. I'd probably take that one back as well. At least the fish didn't come out too bad.

[ArnieM]

Hi Liz and welcome to the forum.  Sorry to hear about the problems.  :(

I agree with Mike; take it back.  You shouldn't have to be using duct tape on a new unit.

Make sure you keep the vent wide open when doing the chicken.

[_Bear_]

Yup, I would be taking it back Liz.

[KyNola]

Just an observation from a cynical old dude but something's not smelling right here. ???

 

[Habanero Smoker]

The first one was probably a simple fix (go the to FAQ link FLB posted), the second problem is one that requires the smoker to be returned.